Abstract Essential oils (EOs) are natural compounds extracted from plants that exhibit antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. and therefore attract interest as additives in the food industry. especially food for special populations. In the case of children diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. another factor has to be considered. such as the consistency of food. This study evaluated consumer acceptability of infant food with oregano essential oil by children diagnosed with cerebral palsy and a questionnaire was applied to assess consumption habits and profile of the studied population. Samples were evaluated according to odor. flavor. color. and texture acceptability. Consumers were divided by days. with 35 children each day per sample (CONT without essential oil and EO with different concentration of oregano essential oil). Total number of children was 103. In relation to acceptability of color. odor and flavor of the CONT and EO-0.01% received higher grades. the infant food with 0.05% oregano essential oil showed lower scores compared with the other treatments. However. in relation to acceptability. all samples received satisfactory scores. In relation to texture. differences were not observed. The use of oregano essential oil could be an alternative for the development of an infant food.

ABSTRACT. Brazil is currently undergoing a process to establish new patterns of consumption habits and the implementation of a new concepts of meat quality. The process emphasizes the quality of information delivered to consumers, which is part of the new approach to meat quality and food safety. The objective of this article is to investigate the attributes considered important when buying beef, knowledge about the production process, labelling, cuts and characteristics of the animals. The study included 276 consumers in three Brazilian cities and their responses were examined in relation to the semi-structured form with fifteen spontaneous and stimulated questions. It was verified that the presentation of the product is regarded as the most important attribute at the time of purchase, they prefer to purchase meat in the butchers, and do not value the labelling of the product, which makes it difficult to identify and offer differentiated products or certificates. The frequency of consumption of beef increases with family income and the vast majority of consumers prefer low marbling meat regardless of the type of preparation. The consumer has little knowledge of more specialized cuts, since the product sold in the butchers has different cuts terminology.